A federal agent died and two other law enforcement officers were injured in a shooting on an Amtrak train at a station Monday morning in Tucson, Arizona.
Members of a regional narcotics “alliance” of local and federal authorities were conducting a routine check on a stationary train when a man opened fire, Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus said Monday. Authorities were detaining another man on the train’s upper deck when the shooter pulled out a handgun, he said.
“The suspect, after exchanging rounds with the officers, barricaded himself in the bathroom, which is on the lower level. … Ultimately it was determined that the suspect in the bathroom was, in fact, deceased,” Magnus said.
The man who was detained remains in custody, Magnus said. Authorities identified no suspects.
A Drug Enforcement Administration agent was killed in the exchange, said Cheri Oz, special agent in charge of the DEA’s Phoenix division. Another agent was in critical condition. A Tucson police officer who rushed to help after hearing shots was stable, Magnus said.
The “shooting incident” on the train from Los Angeles occurred at about 7:40 a.m. local time, Amtrak said in a statement. None of the 137 passengers and 11 crew members, who all evacuated into the station, were reported to have been injured.
“We at the DEA are heartbroken by today’s events and ask that you keep the families of the agents and task force officer in your thoughts and prayers,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland also said he was deeply saddened by the deadly shooting, as well as the death of Deputy U.S. Marshal Jared Keyworth, who died Friday from injuries from a vehicle accident in a law enforcement operation in Mississippi three days earlier.
“We are grateful for the courage and selfless sacrifice of these heroes, and I join the entire Justice Department in conveying our support and deepest sympathies to their families,” Garland said.
Andrew Blankstein contributed.